Author note: This snow is absolutely evil. And always seems to come when I'm missing work due to being sick. Anyway, everyone stay safe wherever you are!

Chapter start

There were some perks and drawbacks to having Sephiroth as a guard. Perk, after Rufus graciously suspended my punishment, I was allowed to go out and about the area around the Shinra tower. I mean, walk. Not be bundled into a car and driven, unless I wanted to go further out. In which case Sephiroth arranged it easily, already well known enough to have his way. And his way happened to be mine, for now.

The unnatural sky and mako heavy air was now mine to absorb as I saw fit. Well, for the most part. Which brought me to a negative. It was Sephiroth who had the keycard to open the doors to the outside world. And when he was in training, or with Hojo, a Turk guard took over. My freedom took a dive. I supposed logically I was training for him as well. To see his skills in action.

They would know his high ability to track me at the least. Once Sephiroth was released from one task into guarding me, he found me with alarming speed. It didn't matter if Aerith was with me or not, and he didn't seem to mind either way. The addition of Aerith was most likely barely a blip to his radar. Except that she was definitely closer to him than I was.

The stubborn half Ancient was now constantly touching him, half hugs and high fives. The softening of his taciturn features couldn't be ignored either. I soaked it all up, and prayed this would be a good alteration for the future.

Today, he was to be with Hojo for a good while. Aeriths mother had been pulling her back from us, or so I believed. She always had Aerith with her, and constantly was giving Sephiroth and me looks when she came across us.

"She has always been afraid of me," Sephiroth had confided in a low voice. I'd wondered if it hurt him. Remembered his hesitation to join us that first meeting, already so sure of not being welcome.

I had leaned over his shoulder to steal a piece of a biscuit. "Can't see why. You're a positive teddy bear."

The words hadn't been lies, oddly enough. The months had passed again and I'd acclimated to his presence. It still struck me randomly what he could become but more and more I saw only the lonely boy, destined to be the Silver General.

Anyway, today I was alone due to the circumstances, with a non descript Turk guard. So, I did what I did best. I vanished. Darts and turns were made as I descended into the Shinra building. I casually darted into a utility closet that was extremely well hidden, known only to the maids. In order to access it you had to press a palm to a very specific part of the wall. And this Turk was a fresh face recruit.

Part of me wondered, if they'd begun sending new Turks to watch over me as a training exercise. I didn't care beyond the brief thought.

I had goals. When I was certain the coast was clear, I left the closet with a small hum. A secretary paused and we locked eyes. Being mischievous was a cloak of mine. I giggled, pressing a finger to my lips and winking.

She sighed, tightening the grip on her folders before a small smile appeared, tired. "The Turk is over by the elevators on this floor. I'd recommend the stairs, Princess."

"Thank you," I said.

I darted to the right, opening the heavy door with a bit of a struggle. The stairwell wasn't anything to write home about. Non descript and more steel gray. The metal was cold under my fingers as I gripped the thin bar, looking down. Shinra building was seventy-one floors, with only the very top floor being off limits to anyone not invited. That being the floor that housed the Shinra bloodline and executives should they choose to stay a night or two. Pretty sure Scarlet and, shockingly, Reeve were the only ones to utilize the rooms offered. Scarlet for whatever, and Reeve because he worked late into the night, and used the shower rather than the bed.

My eyes couldn't pierce more than several floors down. If I jumped, I'd die, no question about that. The lighting was terrible. Still, I pushed away and started up to floor seventy. I was going to weasel my way into seeing the good old sperm donor.

The Turks had been less than useless with any information regarding my favorite guard. It'd been two months since he'd been sent on the supposed "quick mission". I sincerely believed someone needed to teach them all the definition of the word "quick".

I swiped my keycard at the appropriate place and pushed the door open, sighing at the difference in architecture. Where the stairwell was dark and unwelcoming, the President floor was decadent. President Shinra happened to be alone for once, hands sorting through the documents he had to deal with. Not everything could be delegated down to those of lesser importance.

He didn't flinch when the door opened, my paltry strength not able to open it more than what I needed to squeeze through.

"Sophie. To what do I owe this visit?" He dropped the page he was working on, interlocking his fingers before him, giving me all his attention.

I could give him that credit. He always initially spent all his energy on his kids, gathering the information he needed to make us, or mostly me, go away. I knew I would never love him like I'd loved my former Father. There were no warm hugs, no kind words designed to inspire trust and a familial bond.

I came to stand beside him and, standing still when he grasped me under the arms and hefted me, depositing my body onto his desk. As usual. Because the gesture annoyed me, always being lifted and shifted, and because I had to act childish sometimes, I pushed his pens to the side, scattering them with glee. His brow twitched, one hand stopping a pen from rolling from the desk. He didn't comment though and I beamed with satisfaction.

"I want to know where Vergil is," I demanded, pouting.

The President gave me a bland look, obviously unimpressed with my needs. He'd done what he considered his best by me, letting me have Aerith, a stolen specimen, and now Sephiroth. Although I hadn't asked for the last one. But he was mine now and I admitted a possessive nature since I had goals.

"You mean your former guard? Is the new one not to your liking?"

I quickly shook my head. I didn't need Sephiroth getting in trouble. "No, no! I like Sephiroth. I just…" I trailed off, head tilted. What could I say? "I just miss him, is all."

Sometimes I wondered if maybe Shinra regretted his distance. He'd never been in my life more than necessary or when I flitted into this office, which happened less and less as I aged. I sought out Rufus more, and Aerith kept the loneliness away when I couldn't have Rufus or Vergil. When Mother had been alive, she'd sometimes insist on family dinners, having us all gather.

The look I couldn't place vanished and he glanced to his desk. Eyeing the paperwork. Choosing that over an actual conversation with his daughter.

"The company you keep is odd indeed. The Turk Vergil returned from his mission a week ago and is recovering." He rifled through some documents, pulling one out and glancing over it. "Yes, that's correct. As of my last report he's still stationed in the medical bay."

A punch to the gut wouldn't have been so startling. My breath paused and I felt my eyes prick uncomfortably. The thoughts stalled in my brain for a moment, making me blink stupidly.

They'd said it was a simple mission. Something I'd foolishly presumed to mean "easy" and "safe". For all I knew the mission had been to infiltrate Wutai, a precursor to the war that I knew eventually rocked the continents. Or something more horrid, like destroying a village over a reactor. I'd been idiotic.

I knew Vergil couldn't tell me these things. Even if he could, I looked like a child. No adult would drop secrets onto a child and expect genuine understanding or even that the information would remain secret. Still, I wanted to rip the document away from Shinra and see what it said, to understand.

Before I could make much more fuss, the doors swished open and Reeve and Rufus strode in. His gaze passed over me and a small, fond smile appeared. Reeve was a firm believer that the Shinra family didn't have the myriad cracks running through its foundation. I wondered if he'd ever realize how broken the three of us were as a familial unit.

Rufus in contrast didn't acknowledge me, beyond a small nod before he gave all his attention to our father.

Exhaustion wasn't a good look for Reeve, in any case. Heavy shadows covered his face, the tired lines evident even in the droop of his shoulders. I'd known vaguely that he'd been working late nights, seeing him basically haunting the hallway from his room to his office. Really, I thought he'd only used the room to shower and maybe grab a quick bite before heading back to the job.

"You called for me?" Rufus sounded positively unenthusiastic, already dropping elegantly into a chair. I took the opportunity, shuffling along the desk without grace. I heard President Shinra sighed, imagined the disapproving look I was probably getting.

"Mister President."

"Yes, we have things to discuss… Reeve. I trust you have good news?"

My Father was all business. I smiled at Reeve, giving him a small hand wave. His answer was a small pull of his lips. The President waved him to a chair, and he sank into it with a sigh. Carrying his own body weight seemed a troublesome task at the moment. Pity flushed into my system.

"Hello, Sophie," he murmured, before shifting his attention to the folders he carried. "Mister President, Rufus, I've come up with a new design for the mako reactors."

President Shinra took the folders and opened them casually, fingers and eyes scanning and shifting through them. "They're quite large in comparison to the current models."

Reeve made a noise of assent. "Yes, to house more storage. The sleeker design will make up for the size increase, as they won't be such an eyesore. With this new drawing system, the efficiency that the mako is collected would also be increased, allowing us to create larger reserves to manufacture materia and as simple back up in case of a hardware failure."

"I see," he muttered. "Sophie, since you've so helpfully settled in the middle of my desk, hand these to Rufus."

"Okay, Papa!" I made sure to beam at him like a silly girl and ignored the way Rufus twitched.

Reeve chuckled. "Of course, they would have to be tested. However in small, rural areas such as Mount Corel, or villages such as Gongaga, the reserves would help keep them supplied during storms or if weather damaged the reactor itself."

"A progressive thought. Securing the further out reactors would further bind the outlier regions to the company. Rufus. What do you think?"

Rufus went to drop the documents, but handed them to me instead, huffing a little. "To my knowledge, the current mako reactors are working fine. This seems like a costly endeavor, for a shiny toy that we have no guarantee will work."

If it isn't broken, don't fix it, as it were. I zoned out a little, now before Rufus. My legs idly swung and kicked at him, but he didn't react. I wanted to run to Vergil, but recognized that I couldn't just abandon this room. The last thing I needed was for there to be an uproar that I preferred an injured Turk over my only living family.

They weren't necessarily arguing, but their voices weren't kind, when they spoke to each other. I'd noticed it early on, after our mother died. Rufus and Father took calculated jabs at each other, a battle Rufus was doomed to lose, due to age. He didn't have the knowledge or experience to argue with an adult yet.

Reeve was a soothing balm, willingly diverting them both to his attention randomly in order to let the other breath a moment.

"It will take years to go full scale," Rufus finally said. "Perhaps if we start small, one or two villages. I wouldn't risk something untested in Midgar just yet."

"That would seem to be a wise decision." A cigar burned in the older man's hands, another in Reeves after the President pushed it on him. Point for Reeve, he wasn't a smoker in usual circumstances, but he could deal with it. Still, I found I didn't mind the acrid burn of the smoke, the scene familiar. My first father had been a cigar smoker.

Acceptable loss, apparently, a village or two. I despised this conversation and the turn it was taking. That Rufus could be so casual about it was concerning, but not unexpected. Still, I felt agitation crawl along my skin, and I acted.

Turning large, blue eyes to my brother I kicked out at him deliberately this time. "Hey, hey. Isn't mako the planets blood, like ours?"

His eyes widened as he heard that, and the conversation about where to try building this prototype died. Rufus frowned after a moment, and his eyes darted to our father, who began chuckling.

"Where did you hear such nonsense?" He questioned firmly, despite his laughter.

I turned my head to him, looking innocent. "I don't know. But is it?"

He grunted, stabbing out the cigar aggressively. "Utter trash. And so, what if it is?"

I widened my eyes, aware that Rufus had edged forward in his chair and Reeve was fumbling through his papers.

"If it is then it's hurting. We shouldn't do it."

"And do what instead?"

"Aren't there other things we can make electricity from?"

Shinra had seemed a little amused but now he went cold and used a tone meant to cease a fight. "Hardly. Even if it is the planets blood, as you called it, people want what we provide."

"But-"

"Do you like your dress," he cut over me cleanly.

"Ah, y-yes."

"Your warm bed, your warm baths? You slept with a nightlight until you were four, did that comfort you? Do you enjoy the food you eat, and the friends you keep?"

I'd had nightmares, and Mother and Rufus had thought it was a fear of the dark. I hadn't exactly been able to explain it was over my past life. "Of course I do, Papa."

He leaned forward, eyes boring into mine. "All possible because of mako. Make no mistake, Sophie. Mako is our resource and our bloodline. Without it, we would be nothing."

"Enough." Rufus stood up suddenly. If glares could kill…

President Shinra merely smirked, settling back. Rufus grabbed me suddenly, ignoring my squeak as he tugged me into his arms then dropped me to the floor.

"Sophie is still young. She doesn't need to hear your ramblings old man." His hand dropped to my hair and ruffled the strands. "Go. Your guard has been waiting for a few moments."

I gave him a quick hug, saying a slightly off goodbye to the other residents of the room. Since I was leaving by the main entrance or exit, I used my keycard. Sephiroth was leaning against the wall opposite the doors, beside Tseng.

The two glanced at me, both straightening up. "Ah, hello little Miss." Tseng bowed slightly.

"You seem pale," Sephiroth commented. He didn't waste time greeting me. As usual.

Sephiroth was blunt and often unintentionally intimidating. His expression rarely changed in anything beyond subtle cues, which didn't help his case. Still, I found my heart settled a little from that horrid conversation by seeing him. By recognizing the flickering concern in the taciturn eyes.

"I'm okay," I murmured. I stepped forward, reaching out with my hands. Without thought, I grasped his arm, feeling the slight rigidness, before my forehead tapped against his flesh as well.

Tseng cleared his throat. "I must agree with him, Princess. Perhaps you need to go and rest."

Sephiroth had eased his posture intentionally, a hand coming up and hesitantly shifting through my hair. His warmth was surrounding me, something I noticed and found myself liking. He ran a bit warmer than any other human I'd ever come across.

I took the strength he probably unknowingly offered, and raided my head. "No, I want to go to the medical ward."

"So you are ill." My silver friend stated it ax a fact.

I shook my head. The conversation had upset me, but I hadn't expected more. I had known Shinra knew what they were doing and didn't care. It was just depressing, is all.

"I want to go see Vergil."

"Your former bodyguard," Sephiroth said with a head tilt. Understanding flickered in his cat eyes before they shuttered again.

"I see, someone told you." Tseng covered his mouth.

"You could have told me."

My hard state didn't have an effect, although his eyes did crinkle in small amusement. "He asked us not to. In his present condition, he was worried it would frighten you, to see him. He's also not able to handle a child's… energetic actions right now."

My hands trembled and I stepped closer. "He's that hurt?"

Tseng hummed, then seemed to make a decision. He knelt suddenly to my level, hand hovering over my cheek before he withdrew. "He is recovering, little miss. I have to ask you to respect his wishes that he be left alone during this time. I'm certain once he is able to return to duty, you'll be one of the first to see his arrogant face."

I hesitated but when I glanced into his face, all I saw was sincerity. Tseng had always been fiercely loyal to his fellow Turks, and if not a friend, then the closest thing to one Rufus had. I wanted go trust him. If he said Vergil would recover…

My heart pounded and I placed my hands there, feeling it. I had to have trust. But I also had to act like I wasn't so smart. "But I want him."

Tseng hummed again. "And he'll be yours. Just a while longer. Surely you can be patient, for me?"

I stated into the ageless face and finally relented like I wanted to. "Okay."

End chapter

Review responses:

XENOCANAAN: A bit of opening up from Sophie. And we finally hear something about Vergil, although he won't be back just yet. I'm glad you're enjoying the trip dynamic. It's really fun to explore, especially Sephiroth as he's so closed off in most media I've seem him in. See you next time!

PHOENIX: I'm glad you're enjoying still. Rufus is a bit hard for me, but he's getting easier. Ah, if only Hojo could be so easy to end. He's such an integral part of the future, all the bad parts. But I have a plan, if Sophie will cooperate with it down the line. See you next time.